What Could Have Been
by HolyMistress
Summary: AU. If things had been different, could they have lived a happy life? For Kaoru Gal and thoughtless dreamer. No longer a one-shot.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: If things had been different, could they have lived a happy life?

Note: This is an apology one-shot to Joh-chan and Jessie-chan, Kaoru Gal and thoughtless dreamer respectively. One because it's been so long since we've spoken to each other. Two because I haven't been reviewing their stories. And three because I still haven't finished something I've been writing for them for a long time. Sorry Joh-chan. Jessie-chan. I hope you both like this.

* * *

It was a cool spring night when the two children decided to go explore the mountains behind the Asakura estate. They were six years old and quite adventurous for their age, despite the fact that the younger was usually seen sleeping or relaxing under a tree in a highly successful attempt at being lazy. However, if it was something that he could do with his brother, he would do it. Their family knew nothing of it nor did the servants in the household. They had snuck out once everyone fell asleep.

"Look, nii-chan!" a childish voice exclaimed, bright chocolate brown eyes glittering in excitement as the little boy pointed at the estate. "It looks so small from here!"

"Ah," the older agreed, smiling slightly. His long hair swayed as a gentle breeze blew. "Come on. The thing I want to show you is higher up."

"Okay!" the younger chirped happily, making sure to keep up with his brother. He grinned, happy to be able to do something with his brother.

"Careful, Yoh," the older boy warned gently. "The rocks up here are slippery. Here, take my hand." He paused, reaching out toward the younger with his palm face-up.

"Thanks, Hao-nii-chan," Yoh said, taking the hand and holding on tightly. Hao held on just as tight and the two continued to make their way up the mountain. There was no path yet, they were able to make their way through the trees that crowned the land with ease. It was obvious the older one had done this numerous times, to have the ability to move through with such ease. Of course, this did not occur to the young one. He was much too excited to see what his brother wanted to show him.

The two were twins. That much was obvious. Hao was the older, Yoh was the younger. Yoh was the easy-going type. He was always going with the flow and never did anything that took more effort than it should have. Though, when it came to his brother, he would as much effort as possible. His hair only brushed his shoulders and the boy always had headphones on. Hao had silky brown hair that reached past his waist and eyes that were a shade darker than Yoh's. He was much more serious than Yoh but was still pretty easy-going.

Glancing back at his brother, Hao watched as the younger boy surveyed their surroundings with interested eyes. In truth, the two were never allowed out of the house much and even if they were let out, it wasn't to interact with other humans. Hao himself didn't mind but he knew that Yoh would have liked to make other friends his own age.

"Ne, nii-chan," Yoh suddenly piped up, carefully stepping over a wet rock. "When are we going to get there?"

"It's just a little further," Hao answered, tugging at the hand in his own. "We're almost there."

"Really?" the younger pressed, staring up hopefully at his brother. The older smiled softly.

"Have I ever lied to you?"

At this, Yoh shook his head vigorously. Never in their entire time together had his big brother ever lied to him. Yoh trusted his big brother never to lie to him. He smiled brightly at the other, who let out a small chuckle of amusement, and the rest of the trip was continued in silence. Though, the younger of the two would occasionally open his mouth to say something only to close it immediately and fidget a little.

Hao wasn't surprised by his twin's impatience and instead of saying anything, he quickened his pace. Pushing past some bushes, he helped his brother through before tugging the other forward.

"Wah!" Yoh exclaimed, eyes widening as he stared up at the dark night sky. They were atop a grassy cliff with the perfect view of the stars. Hao seemed pleased by the shorter's reaction and let go of the boy's hand. Walking past his brother, Hao sat down and patted the grass next to him.

"Sit," he murmured and Yoh immediately sat down, eyes never moving from the sky.

"It's so pretty," the younger whispered wistfully, lost in the beauty of the stars. "It's better than the view at home."

"You like it then?" Hao asked, watching his brother's reaction carefully.

"Of course!" Yoh shouted enthusiastically, his voice nearly echoing through the air. He suddenly wrapped his arms around his twin. grinning wildly. "You're the best, nii-chan!"

Hao was a bit taken aback by the sudden hug but welcomed it, wrapping his own arms around the other. He closed his eyes, focusing only on the warmth of his younger twin. It was a pleasent feeling. He felt calm and peaceful, nothing like how he felt back then. Nothing like it at all.

The two stayed like that for a while, concentrating only on the other's warmth before Yoh pulled away. The younger twin was still smiling and didn't look like he was going to stop soon. Hao opened his eyes to mere slits, staring at the other before letting out his own little smile.

"I love you, nii-chan."

"I love you too, Yoh." There was a pause before Hao suddenly frowned. "No, Yoh. We are not sleeping here."

"Awwww!"

"You'll catch a cold!"

* * *

The End.

Well, that was short. If there are any typos, tell me. I don't have a beta and am too lazy to get one. They seem pretty out of character, don't they? Well, this is something that could have been, after all. Could have been. Huh.

Did you like it?


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: If things had been different, could they have lived a happy life?

Note: Due to certain circumstances, I have added another chapter to this. If you would like to know the reason why, I shall tell you. After reading the Shaman King manga over again from chapter 240, I have realized that fangirling is not good for one's health. Especially in the middle of the night. With school the next day. So, in order to rid myself of at least some of these insane urges to squeal every time I think of Hao and Yoh sipping coffee together peacefully or the two of them in the onsen together, I have made another one of these. I am also ignoring the fact that they shared the onsen with pretty much all the other guys because I rather like the image of them enjoying each other's company. With just the two of them. Oh yes. I would also like to add that the reviews given to me have put me in a very happy mood and was the reason why I had the urge to read Shaman King again. So, all those who reviewed, you have yourselves to thank for the existence of this chapter.

Disclaimer: I seem to have forgotten about this in the first chapter. I do not own Shaman King or any of its characters. I, sadly, have not perfected my drawing technique yet and so, it would be impossible for me to even attempt creating a manga.

* * *

Chocolate brown eyes roamed the corridors carefully, watching for any signs of life. Seeing that the coast was clear, nine-year-old Asakura Yoh tiptoed out from his hiding place inside his room and slowly made his way down the hall. He winced every time the wooden floor creaked under his weight but did not pause, his determination pushing him onwards. It was very unlike Yoh to do something like this. Usually he would be with his brother or lazing around in his room. But this was essential for his survival.

Today, he was on a mission.

His parents had left do something or another, he hadn't been paying much attention. It probably had something to do with that little trip he had caught them talking about once. His grandmother lived in a totally separate house from them somewhere in Osorezan. He didn't know where since he had never visited her before. She was always the one that visited them. His grandfather had some errands to take care of and all the servants in the household were on a sort of 'vacation', as one would call it. That meant that the house was empty. There was nothing to stop him.

It was the perfect chance.

As he closed in on his destination, Yoh's face lit up. The boy unconsciously quickened his pace, trying to reach the door that would lead him to his goal. He quickly stopped and peeked inside. Seeing no one, the boy brightened and completely forgot about keeping quiet. Grabbing a stool, he placed it down in front of the sink and climbed onto it. Lucky for him the stool was tall enough that he could reach over the counter. In his excitement at realizing how close he was to achieving his goal, the young nine year old forgot about the most important thing. A mistake that cost him everything.

"What are you doing, Yoh?"

Eyes widened and muscles tensed as Yoh found himself frozen in place at the sound of another voice. His hand was outstretched, fingertips almost touching a large jar next to the sink. Slowly, the boy turned his head around and came face-to-face with the one person he had been trying to be cautious of.

Asakura Hao leaned against the doorway on his side, crossed his arms and raised a single eyebrow at his younger twin brother.

"Nii-chan. . . ." Yoh whispered, laughing nervously as he tried to act calm. His mind, however, was doing the complete opposite. "Is there something you need. . . . ?" He let out an innocent smile, trying to make it seem like he wasn't about to do whatever it was he was going to do.

Hao's eyes narrowed.

"Yoh," he began sternly, standing up straight. His face was serious. "Move away from the cookie jar."

The younger one did so reluctantly, tears streaming down his face.

Hao would always be the one obstacle he would never be able to overcome.

* * *

The End.

Why doesn't my family have a cookie jar?


	3. Chapter 3

I'm in a very good mood. I haven't felt like this in a while. This chapter is actually mentioned in the manga. For those who haven't read the manga, go buy it or look for it online. Note that I don't know much about boat riding as the last time I did it was when I was younger and I can't remember it. So everything here is made-up.

* * *

"Waah!"

Hao couldn't help but smile slightly at the look of awe on his little brother's face. The boy was so innocent, finding anything new to be the most amazing thing in the world. Looking over at what his brother was looking at,however, Hao couldn't help but think the awe wasn't misplaced. Though he could do without the numerous amounts of humans wandering the place.

The two had been brought on a family trip to Kyoto with their parents. Their grandparents hadn't been able to make it, seeing as they were old and had other things to do. They did, however, express their regret at not being able to come along.

"Ne, Kaa-san!" At Yoh's exclamation, Hao snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at the younger to see the boy excitedly tugging on their mother's hand. Asakura Keiko laughed at her son's enthusiasm and for a brief moment, Hao's eyes wandered over to her other hand. The one that clasped his. He quickly turned away though, looking out into the lake.

Today, they were going to go boat riding using swan shaped boats. The ones where you had to paddle by yourself to make move. Hao wasn't really looking forward to it.

"Impressive, isn't it?" The older twin snapped his head up to see the smiling face of his father, Mickey. "Doesn't it make you feel excited?"

"Maybe," Hao mumbled, looking away. He still felt a little unnerved whenever his parents showed him affection, despite how long they had been together already.

"Come on, nii-chan!"

"Wha-?" Hao suddenly found his arm being grabbed and was forced to release his mother's arm, least he pull her with him. Keiko let out another laugh and the older twin soon understand why. He mentally sighed, allowing himself to be dragged like a doll toward the boats. There was no way of stopping Yoh when he was this excited. "Yoh, you're going to pull off my arm at this rate."

"Oh, sorry nii-chan," the younger apologized with a large grin, not looking sorry at all. But he did slow down, enough so Hao didn't feel like he was being dragged anymore. "Let's take this one!" Hao looked toward where his little brother pointed and raised an eyebrow. The boat was big. Much too big for a pair of nine year old twins to paddle by themselves. Though, Hao did like the design of the swan.

"Why don't you try a smaller one?" Mickey asked, walking over to them with his wife and unknowingly voicing what Hao himself had wanted to say.

"But I want this one!" Yoh protested and pouted. Hao almost flinched when the younger turned to look at him for support. Ever since the cookie incident, for lack of better name, Yoh had miraculously found a way to use the puppy dog eyes. Ever since then, Hao couldn't deny him anything.

"Why don't we all ride in it?" Keiko suggested and Hao couldn't keep his eyes from widening. "There's enough room for all of us." Before he could protest, however, Yoh let out a cheer and grabbed his arm yet again.

"Let's get in before someone else takes it," he said, coming in himself before tugging the older twin in. Hao was taken by surprise by the tug and found himself lose his balance, falling right on top of his brother. The two bumped heads, causing them both to let out a exclamation of pain.

"Ow!"

"Ouch!"

Their parents laughed at the sight, causing the twins to look at them. Yoh pouted, rubbing his forehead while Hao just glared at the two, ignoring the pain. He resisted the urge to grumble under his breath and got off his brother, allowing the younger to sit up. Keiko wiped away a tear of mirth from her eye and smiled at her husband, who had already recovered and taken a brief moment to watch her laugh. He returned the smile and Hao wanted nothing more than to wish for it all to end. Just watching them was uncomfortable. He was quickly distracted when Yoh tugged on his, rather abused, arm.

"Look, nii-chan! Swans!" the boy shouted excitedly, pointing. Following the direction the younger was pointing, Hao blinked and was surprised to see that there were indeed swans. A small smile crossed his face at seeing the pure white feathered birds. They were beautiful.

"Want to get a closer look?" Keiko asked and Yoh nodded vigorously, taking his eyes of the birds for only a moment before turning his attention straight back to them. There were only two and it was obvious they were mates. Hao barely registered the two adults climb in, too mesmerized by the sight of the birds. He felt calm and peaceful and happy.

"Nii-chan!"

"Hm?" Hao glanced at his brother from the corner of his eye. Yoh was staring straight at him. There was an unreadable expression on his face but it was broken when the younger smiled.

"Aren't they pretty?" The older of the two slowly turned to look at the other fully. There was a moment of silence as Hao stared, at Yoh or at the swans past him. It was hard to tell. Then, the thousand year old shaman smiled.

"Yeah. They are," he whispered and Yoh's smile widened.

Maybe this trip wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

* * *

Hm. Didn't really come out as I expected. Not that I expected anything. Ah, well. I think I might turn this into a little series of events that happen in their lives. Up until the beginning of the Shaman King Tournament. Then I'm going to stop. Any mistakes, tell me. If you think the characters are too OOC, tell me.

I feel so giddy today.


End file.
